Deployable structures, such as frameworks, that support and maintain sheets of material for the purposes of protection and support of plants, trellising plants, or solar energy collection have a wide range of applications in agricultural, rural and public safety sectors.
In one exemplary area of need for support structures, free roaming herbivores routinely damage plants and agricultural properties in their quest to reach edible plants. In particular, wild deer annually wreak hundreds of millions of dollars in damage to landscaping and gardens by eating and trampling plants. Deer also consume significant amounts of agricultural products. It is not unusual for an adult male deer to eat over five pounds of food per day. This rate of consumption can result in serious economic degradation of the yield of an agricultural property. In addition, deer can severely and permanently damage prairies and wooded area and even cause an extinction of certain plant species within their grazing range.
SBI, a market research firm headquartered in Rockville, Md., estimated in their publication entitled The U.S. Market for Fencing that the year 2005 United States domestic fencing market was over three billion dollars. This estimate included products comprising metal, vinyl and wood fencing. The U.S. Market for Fencing further specified factors affecting the purchase of fences and fencing material for the purpose of plant protection from deer to include disposable income, the home remodeling market, and consumer interest in home improvement and home decor.
While the market for deer barriers and barrier material measures in the billions of dollars annually, the willingness and ability of many consumers to erect deer fences is closely related to the purchase price, ease of installation and durability of deer barrier products and components. The prior art fails to offer solutions that protect plants damage and areas from intrusion by deer while optimally reducing costs of materials acquisition and increasing ease of barrier installation.
In another area of need, it is sometimes desirable to deploy sun-shading materials and protective sheets that protect plants and seedlings from sun damage and/or from exposure to inclement weather conditions. Yet the prior art fails to provide support structures that optimally enable the positioning of sun-shading materials and protective sheets above plants and seedlings over a wide range of plant growth bed or site conditions.
In yet another area of need, solar energy collection fabrics and panels are becoming increasingly available at financially attractive price points for use by consumers in a wide variety of geography and ground conditions. Yet the prior art fails to provide support structures that optimally enable the support of solar energy collection devices over exposed earth or broken ground.
There is therefore a long-felt need to provide improved methods and devices for trellising plants, supporting and protecting plants and for reducing damage by animals to sheet materials, such as solar energy collection fabric or plant protection materials.